The new head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has now assumed office, pledging to reform the institution and tackle the continent’s many crises.

Faki was elected chairman in January after seven rounds of voting, triumphing over Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed and candidates from Senegal, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea.

He resumes work after the United Nations announced that the food emergencies in four countries, including Somalia, South Sudan and northeast Nigeria, constituted the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

While Faki campaigned on putting “development and security” at the top of his agenda, his predecessor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, championed the commission’s Agenda 2063 development program but was seen as being weak on peace and security issues.